]]>2006-03-02T13:40:41+00:002006-03-02T13:40:41+00:00http://linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2515&p=18313#p18313David Gemmell is a good author, although his plots get a bit ropey from time to time - "experienced fighter is too old to fight on, but finds some young 'un who has the strength but not the brains" ad infinitum. That said, "Troy" and "Lion of Macedon" are two very fine works.

David Eddings has been known to write good books, but please avoid the Redemption of Althalus unless you enjoy 1-dimensional characters, random plot twists and a brain-curdling "humour".

Don't read anything by Robert Jordan. He is monotonous to the extreme, his books go nowhere (and take 1000 pages each to do that), his characters are painfully crap, and his depiction of women makes me think he's never had a girlfriend. I almost stopped reading the Wheel of Time when each member of the Aes Sedai (aka "witches") shucked off the tops of their dresses to show their breasts, and solemnly had to pronounce "I...am...a woman!" The only reason I've made it so far through the series is because I'm hoping something - anything - will happen that will make my reading investment worthwhile.

Robin Hobb, Philip Pullman: highly recommended.

Neil Gaiman: seriously twisted, full of surprises, edged with danger, and certainly a good read.

Anne McCaffrey writes an apparently endless stream of books on dragons. This is no bad thing if you like dragons, and the first two books are actually very good. Goes downhill a bit afterwards, though.

Raymond E. Feist can be a struggle for less-experienced fantasy readers, purely because he's a real great in the arena - his ideas have been borrowed so many times by other writers that newcomers to the genre will think him dull and uninventive. Magician (and its sequels) is a marvellous book that's packed with what have since become fantasy cliches.

JRR Tolkien: LOTR is a powerful and inventive series, but if you're going to read it I'd recommend you buy the seven-volume edition - much easier to carry, much easier to find your place in, and much less scary Regarding the missing wights, I'd much rather have seen Tom Bombadil!

]]>2006-03-02T10:02:07+00:002006-03-02T10:02:07+00:00http://linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2515&p=18299#p18299It's not a book, but the Baroness Von Smallenhofer would probably also like the Niebelungenlied. Who knew that eating a dragon's heart would enable you to talk to birds?

]]>2006-03-01T21:19:56+00:002006-03-01T16:49:03+00:00http://linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2515&p=18225#p18225Slightly different but still fantasy (of sorts) is Philip Pulmans "His Dark Materials" trilogy. It was one of the finalists in the BBC "Big Read" comp a few years ago, I didn't vote for it at the time as I hadn't read it then but I now reckon they're among the best books I've ever read. It was beaten by the ubiquitous Lord Of The Rings, but Pullmans trilogy is a much better book (IMHO).

Edited to add: Reading His Dark Materials was a real emotional rollercoaster, it's the only book I've ever read that had me close to tears and it did that on more than one occasion. There were also places where I was reading so fast in my excitement that I felt exhausted by the effort.

]]>2006-03-01T16:12:16+00:002006-03-01T16:12:16+00:00http://linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2515&p=18223#p18223Just as a note of interest for readers thinking we drive poor Rebecca too hard, she actually didn't take all her holiday time last year - she must like it here!

]]>2006-03-01T15:42:07+00:002006-03-01T15:42:07+00:00http://linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2515&p=18222#p18222Now I just need to persuade the local library to let me borrow books again (running total for late fines since joining must be coming up to £150) and Nick to let me have some, er, gardening leave for some reading time (not that I'd be reading in the garden at this time of year, and is gardening leave when you're not coming back?). How come Bruce Perens and people at Google get time from their employers for 'personal projects'? Isn't getting closer to our readers through the medium of fantasy fiction reason enough for me having every Friday off?

]]>2006-02-27T20:56:13+00:002006-02-27T20:56:13+00:00http://linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2515&p=18058#p18058Statistics: Posted by andychannelle — Mon Feb 27, 2006 8:56 pm
]]>2006-02-26T11:34:01+00:002006-02-26T11:34:01+00:00http://linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2515&p=17992#p17992Statistics: Posted by fmwt — Sun Feb 26, 2006 11:34 am
]]>2006-02-26T11:23:35+00:002006-02-26T11:23:35+00:00http://linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2515&p=17991#p17991JV JonesRobin HobbDave Duncan (not read him myself by my wife's a fan)Fiest is very good as someone else suggested, his earlier stuff is better. The trilogy he co-wrote with Janny Wurtz is as good as the original trilogy. And Faerie Tale which is sort of dark fantasy. Edding, Belgariad is very good, but then you realise he can only write one story and the fact that everyone is archetype gets a bit irritating after a while.Guy Gaverial KayChristopher Paolini (the trilogy is a young adults read apparently but the first two are still really good. Third's not out yet)Is Robert Jordan every going to finish Wheel of Time (I got bored at book 4 I think, and it's up to 8???). But I agree the ones I read were good epic fantasy. I just wanted an ending, and five books in a series is about my limit.

If you want move slightly (or indeed quite a way) outside Heroic Fantasy (some of the below have been accursed of writing literature)Neil GaimanChina Melville (for a bit of politics)Graham JoyceK.J. Parker (bit unsure about recommending this guy, as I really like his stuff but really not sure why)

To go off topic slightly I really winds me up when fantasy/sf/any other genre books get re-classified as not genre when it's widely found to be good.

]]>2006-02-24T14:02:57+00:002006-02-24T14:02:57+00:00http://linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2515&p=17932#p17932Of course, if you want to mix Fantasy with Humour, look no further than Terry Pratchett's Discworld books.